Inclusion: Barriers to Learning for CA/LA’s (Scotland) – IN309A

This course will be invaluable to all classroom learning assistants when supporting the additional needs of pupils on a daily basis in mainstream classrooms. The curriculum for excellence and its presentation may present barriers to learning for some pupils – e.g. those with EAL – this course provides classroom/learning assistants with the opportunity to learn more about developmental disorders such as dyslexia and autism as well as considering the impact of e.g. challenging behaviour and disabilities on children and young people’s learning. The course finishes with a brief look at individualising the curriculum by using ICT.

Section 1Barriers to Learning

This course, in 10 parts with a short introduction to barriers to learning, explores the impact on learning of:

dyslexia

ADHD

dyspraxia

dyscalculia

autistic spectrum disorders (ASD)

challenging behaviour

physical/sensory impairment

bilingualism (EAL)

other barriers to learning

individualising the curriculum

Each part of the course provides text and video information, links to other websites and also considers some strategies that could be used by classroom/learning assistants to support the additional learning needs of individual pupils in the mainstream classroom. The final 2 parts provide a review of other barriers to learning and considers ways of individualising the curriculum – including the use of ICT.